


Surviving Through the Storm

by NyxieoftheNightSky



Category: SCP - Containment Breach, SCP Foundation
Genre: Hopefully somebody reads this, I'm Bad At Tagging, Multi, My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Romance, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Thriller, college students join the Scp Foundation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxieoftheNightSky/pseuds/NyxieoftheNightSky
Summary: “What is happening?!?” Isabelle whisper-screamed, her voice laced with fear.Nobody answered her; none of you really wanted to bring the situation to a reality by speaking about it out loud. Your mouth felt dry. How...no, why did this have to happen? And what was to become of you all?In this Reader-inclusive SCP fanfic, you are an intelligent young college student studying for a science degree when you make the mistake of agreeing to take a test for “Advanced Learners”. Being one of two students to score the highest on the test, you are immediately offered a “Special Researcher Position” at a “Government-Funded Research Center” which you and the other student readily accept, sadly ignorant to the fact that you two may have just signed your own lives away.Thus begins your fight for survival at the SCP Foundation.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I’m Nyxie and this is my very first reader interactive SCP fanfic. However, unlike most reader-inclusive fanfics, this story does not have a Reader x (Insert random SCP/important character here) plotline in it. Those may be great and all, but I’m not really a huge fan of writing or reading romance of any sort (unless they have unexpected twists, other elements or are superbly well-written, but I won’t get into that today). In fact, the reader probably won’t have any strangely romantic/overly friendly interactions with the SCPs themselves at all in this story.
> 
> My aim is to throw the reader into this survival story, where you and a small group of original characters fight to make it out of the SCP facility during a breach of containment and stay alive in the process. (Kinda like the video game, but with more drama, allies and words, I guess) There will be a few romantic-ish elements though, for those of you who enjoy that sort of thing in a story. The main character, aka you, is written as a straight female, but they could also easily work as a gay/bi/pan guy if necessary (mainly because reader is written to have an attraction to males). The main reason for this is because I don’t know how someone who is attracted to females would think, so I find writing like this more comfortable. I’ll try to branch out more in the future, I promise, just let me get used to writing these kinds of stories. :)
> 
> There will be a bit of swearing, but it will be all censored out, mostly because I really don’t care for actually reading or writing those words out.   
> But without further ado, let us begin!

“And I believe that will be all for today’s lesson. Please be sure to check online for your essay grades; I should have them all posted by no later than next Monday. And remember that finals are very much on their way and they are not going to be open-book, so don’t forget to study. Also…”

  
Professor Asher’s words slowly turned into a dull background sound as you stood up and begin to try and get your notebook, textbook and folder into your already overstuffed backpack. This was not your first time taking one of Professor Asher’s classes and he always seemed to say the exact same thing around the time of finals. Don’t forget to study; Finals are not open-book; Be sure to look over all the diagrams we went over during class, etc, etc…

  
You had it covered. Of course, there was no way you would have made it to the top of the class if you needed to be reminded about something like studying. Although some days made you wonder if it was all worth it. Just because you’d have some fancy science degree to show for all your hard work didn’t guarantee that you’d have success in life after college after all. Perhaps you should have listened to your mother and gotten a degree in something more…. mundane.

  
A sudden change in Professor Asher’s normal spiel caught your attention. “…. On your tests. Shanika Lovett, Ryan Everens, (y/n) (l/n), Talia Versine and Quinn Turner, I would like to see you all after class about something rather important. To everyone else, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and once again, I urge you to look over those diagrams.”

  
 _Why in the world would Professor Asher need to see me, out of all people, after class?_ You wondered, feeling slightly nervous. The last time you’d had to stay after a class was in high school and the teacher had not been pleased with you. (Of course, it had been that one bitchy teacher who hated you, but still) _Was my essay really that bad? I thought I made sure to cover everything the professor asked for…. maybe I didn’t add enough references, but that wouldn’t result in me getting kept after class, would it?_

  
“Oof, sounds like you’re in some trouble,” laughed Justin Mitchell, your boyfriend of almost a year now, as he slid past you and patted you on the rear. You gave him a glare, but couldn’t keep it from forming into a smile. The dork… “What did you guys do, score so well on something that the government feels ashamed and demanded that he dumb you down a little?”

  
“I seriously doubt it,” you replied, attempting to sling your heavy backpack over your shoulder and failing miserably. “I just hope I didn’t screw up on my essay or anything.”

  
“You, screw up on an essay? Please, be serious with me!” Justin rolled his eyes. “That’s _my_ area of expertise, not yours. Besides, I can’t see that all five of our science class nerds would decide to mess up on the exact same day. I don’t think Quinn even knows how to make mistakes, with the way they talk.”  
You sniggered and gave Justin a playful shove. “Whatever, Fuzzbrain. I’ll see you tonight, ok?”

  
“I’ll be waiting with baited breath,” Justin replied with a small smirk. You blew him a kiss before turning and walking towards the front of the room where Professor Asher waited with Quinn, Talia and Shanika.

  
“Is something wrong, Professor?” you asked politely as soon as Professor Asher turned to acknowledge you, internally praying that he would say no.  
The man chuckled. “No, everything is fine. I’ll explain as soon as Mr. Everens joins us,” he said, gesturing towards where Ryan stood saying goodbye to another student. The two of them exchanged a quick high five before Ryan turned and jogged over towards the five of you.

  
“Professor?” he said immediately. “Is everything ok? I mean, I realize now that I probably should have cited more works in my essay and everything, but…”  
“I’m sure that the essay is fine, Mr. Everens,” Professor Asher interrupted with a slightly amused expression. “The news I have invited you all to hear has absolutely nothing to do with essays or poor work; rather I’d say it is actually quite the reverse.”

  
A spark of interest ignited in your chest at this declaration as your nervousness quickly faded away. Perhaps you were eligible for some sort of money grant or other benefit as a result of your grades? You had never heard of such a thing, but that didn’t mean it didn’t exist. And if it did, it would be very helpful right now, especially since you didn’t make all that much at your current job.

  
The others seemed to contemplating similar ideas. Realizing that he now had everyone’s full attention, Professor Asher continued, “As you know, the college keeps a record of all your grades. Well, recently we were graced with a visit from a government-run research organization that was interested in our most promising science students. They were particularly most interested in you five and would like to arrange a time to run you all through some aptitude tests made especially for advanced learners. If you score well on those, you will be offered the research job of a lifetime at their facility. As a professor, I would be delighted to see…”  
“Wait, this is for real?” Quinn interrupted suddenly. “Like, all we have to do is pass a few tests and we just instantly get ourselves jobs at some snazzy government research facility? And there are no catches, no extra costs, nothing?”

  
“Well, I believe so,” Professor Asher replied, caught slightly off-guard by Quinn’s sudden interruption. “Like I stated earlier, this would be the research job of a lifetime. They never mentioned anything about extra costs or special requirements. From what I heard, you had everything they found necessary.”

  
“But they didn’t say that there wouldn’t be any extra requirements either,” Quinn said, raising an eyebrow. Shanika and Ryan nodded in agreement and you found yourself wondering at their words. Theoretically, getting a job at a government research facility straight out of college would be a dream come true. However, Quinn was right; it was almost too good to be true. There was likely some sort of catch somewhere.

  
Professor Asher took some time before replying. “Well…I guess that they didn’t specifically say that there wouldn’t be any extra requirements,” he said slowly. “Perhaps that will depend on how well you five do on the aptitude test. You are all welcome to ask them about it if you decide to come and take the tests. Once again, I still think that this is a wonderful opportunity and you should take full advantage of it. However, the decision is up to you. I’ll be posting the times you can come to take the tests online.”

  
With that final statement, the professor dismissed you and the others. As you headed out of the classroom and into the surprisingly dead hallway, Quinn fell into step with you. “Are you gonna do it?” they asked.

  
“I need to sleep on it,” you replied. “The whole thing sounds really great, but like you said earlier, nobody actually said that there wouldn’t be anything extra that we’d have to do. And I can’t really afford to pay for several months of training or a special education or anything like that.”

  
“Yeah, and it doesn’t really help to be hearing it second-hand from Professor Asher,” Quinn agreed. “Though I have half a mind to come and take the test anyways. Maybe I’ll get some questions answered and it’s not like they can force me to accept the job offer, right?”

  
“Yeah, that’d probably be illegal,” you said, nodding your head. “Although, that’s only if you actually pass the test, of course. That’s what I’m kind of worried about, screwing up on a test in front of a bunch of government researchers.”

  
“Oh that won’t be a problem,” Quinn said with a shrug, “I already know that I’ll pass; I always do. It’s just the other unknown variables and stuff, you know….” Their voice trailed off as they slowly walked away from you and headed out a pair of doors, apparently done with this conversation. You stopped and stared after them, slightly confused.

  
“Oook then,” you said, looking around awkwardly before following in Quinn’s footsteps, pushing the doors open. You were greeted with a gust of warm fresh air and a pretty sunset. The picturesque scene helped ease your worries a bit as you walked back to your dorm and even the overstuffed backpack didn’t feel so heavy. Quinn was right; there was no harm in actually coming to take the test and maybe you’d get some questions answered when you were there. Then if you did well and you got the job offer, you’d talk it over with Justin and your friends and family to see what they thought and go from there. After all, it wasn’t everyday that someone was offered a nice job straight out of college, even if they had good grades.

  
By the time you had arrived at your dorm room, you knew exactly what you were going to do. Dropping your backpack on your bed and pulling out your laptop, you logged into your account on the college website and went on your assignments page to see if Professor Asher had posted the dates for the aptitude tests yet.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...yeah, this is late. And kinda short to top it off. I'm so sorry for the wait, everyone. I usually try to update this story every 7-10 days, but you saw just how well that turned out. I'm hoping that I'm able to keep the schedule with the future chapters, but these last few weeks have been crazy with exams, extra busyness and me having the occasional emotional breakdown. So basically, I was in no proper frame of mind to write. However, since my Thanksgiving break just started, maybe I'll have a bit more time to write. Sorry again, and stay tuned for more, because there's definitely more to come! ~Nyxie

The 6th of May, just a week before graduations and the beginning of summer break, turned out to be the most popular date for the aptitude tests. You had already passed Ryan Everens in the hallway on your way to take the tests and, upon arriving, you had found both Shanika Lovett and Talia Versine in the spare classroom, already taking the tests. Only Quinn Turner, it seemed, preferred a different day.

  
“You’re (y/n) (l/n), correct?” a thin woman in a gray uniform asked in a very bored tone as you walked up to the folding table she sat at. She didn’t bother to look up from the laptop computer she had sitting in front of her.

  
You smiled awkwardly. “Yup! Or at least, last time I checked, that’s who I was. Hopefully I’m not too late for class or anything!”

  
Your sad attempt at humor had absolutely no effect. The woman simply hummed in response before turning away from the computer and handing you a small stack of papers she had next to her. “Just write your name and address and fill out all of the questions, then bring the test back to me,” she told you as if she’d said those words a thousand times already, barely glancing up at you as she spoke. “We’ll notify you within a week if you achieve the desired results.”

  
Mumbling an incoherent response, you accepted the papers and slowly begin to make your way over to one of the empty desks, completely forgetting all the questions you had planned to ask. Your brain was a jumble of worried emotions and anxiety. Could you really pass this test? What if you hadn’t studied enough? What were you even supposed to study?

  
Taking a deep breath to compose your thoughts, you took a seat at the chosen desk and looked down at your test. The first page looked uncannily similar to one of those forms you’d fill out at a doctor’s office, asking questions about things like your medical history, physical fitness, any medications you might be on, how well you dealt with stress, any diagnosed mental conditions or disorders and other similar things. Frowning, you looked through the rest of the pages to see if they were any different. Same format, different questions, this time asking about things like how well you worked with others, if you were good at following directions, how organized you thought you were, etc.

  
You felt very confused, but on the bright side, this definitely was a lot easier than trying to fill out a diagram or remembering all of the differences between mitosis and meiosis. You began to fill out your answers to the questions, hardly believing your luck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh, (y/n)….” The voice of your roommate, Hailey, drifted into the room. You looked up from the suitcase you were attempting to pack.

  
“Yes, Hailey?” you said, wiping some of the sweat on your brow with a handkerchief. _Dang, it’s hot today!_ “What’s up?”

  
Hailey came into to view as she walked into your room, holding a white envelope. “You’ve got some mail,” she said with a smile. “A very mysterious letter with no return address, in fact. Got a secret admirer, do you?”

  
“I seriously doubt it,” you said, rolling your eyes as you took the letter from her. “It’s probably just some politician who wants us to vote for him or something.”  
“Well, open it and we’ll find out,” Hailey said, plopping down on your bed next to your partially full suitcase. You torn open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. On it read:

Dear (y/n) (l/n):

This letter was sent to inform you that you have successfully passed our aptitude test and are officially eligible to begin working with us straight away. Congratulations.  
If you wish to decline this offer, send us an email at Offerdeclinations@scp.gov by Thursday at 11:59 pm. You will be removed from our list of potential employees cost free.  
Otherwise, please be at the Blue Room at 10:30 am this Friday. We will be giving you a basic orientation about our facility so you know something of what to expect.  
We hope to see to there.

Sincerely,  
Caleb Byrd  
SCP Foundation Communications Center

“Well?” Hailey asked impatiently as you read the letter. “What does it say?”

  
“I-I passed the aptitude test, Hailey,” you exclaimed. “They’ve actually offered me the job and everything! Should I accept?"

  
“Wha...let me see that.” Hailey reached over and snatched the latter out of your hands. She scanned it over with, muttering to herself, before handing it back to you with an amazed expression. “Wow, you really did pass!”

  
You glared at her. “Um, and you were planning on me not passing?” you said with a withering tone. Hailey gave you an innocent look. “What? You kept going on and on about how you thought you weren’t going to pass!” she exclaimed. “ I figured it was a fair judgment.”

  
“And I’d say it’s a fair judgment that I need to pick better friends…” you muttered, although a smile tugged at your lips. You knew that Hailey was just teasing anyways.

  
“So, are you gonna accept the offer?” Hailey asked as you folded the letter back up and shoved it into its envelope. “I mean, you’ve only got until Thursday to make up your mind and it’s Tuesday evening, so…

”  
“You know, I really don’t know if I should or not,” you replied, sitting down on your bed on the other side of your suitcase. “I probably should have given it more thought, but to be honest, I didn’t think I’d meet the qualifications.”

  
“Well, I think you should do it,” Hailey said. “Like, how many times are you offered a job like this straight out of college? If I were you, I’d be all over this opportunity…that is, if it had to do with art and computers, not science.”

  
“I guess you’re right,” you admitted. “I’m still gonna call Justin and my mom and see what they have to say though.”

  
“They’re all going to say the same thing!” Hailey hollered after you as you got up and left your room to make the phone calls. She was probably right, you reasoned, but it didn’t hurt to ask just the same.


	3. Chapter 3

You stared boredly out of the van’s tinted window, wishing that you still had your phone so you could play games on it. But you didn’t have it, they did. That’s right, the people from the research facility had taken your phone. Something about adding some security app they required all their staff to have on their phones. You weren’t supposed to get it back until next week. _And goodness only knows what they’ll discover on it on the meantime…. I knew I should have deleted those photos of me, Jordan and Hailey dressed up to go to that Furry Convention!_

  
The orientation that morning had been short and completely unhelpful when it came to answering any of your questions. It was no exaggeration to say that you probably now had at about three questions for every one question you had wanted to ask earlier. You had received a vague idea that you would be helping study some sort of life form and that it was top-secret. Although to be honest, it didn’t take much brainwork for you to figure out the latter. The whole facility emanated secrecy, from their tinted-windowed unmarked sixteen-passenger black vans, to their refusal to answer most of the questions that you had bothered to ask during the orientation to their strange symbol. They wouldn’t even tell you what the acronym S.C.P. stood for.

  
At least now was a nice time to let your mind digest some of less pleasant things it had managed to hear and understand during the orientation, especially the part about how all cell phone usage and outside communications would be traced (hence the needed security app) and watched. _Justin isn’t gonna like that_ you thought distantly.

  
But what had surprised you possibly the most was the fact that only one other person besides you had both passed the test and accepted the position. And that they were Talia Versine, of all people. The same Talia who was too timid to talk in class and who appeared to have no social life outside of her books and computer from what you had observed (which, to be honest, wasn’t really all that much, considering the fact that neither of you ever spoke). _But I guess at least she won’t be missing her phone all that much_ you thought as you glanced over at the dark-haired petite girl seated next to you with some fantasy novel open on her lap. She glanced up at you and smiled nervously, before quickly looking back at the uniformed guy seated next to her. You both were sandwiched at the very back of the van between two armed burly men.

  
Actually, nearly everyone was. One sat in the front seat next to the driver, and the speaker from the orientation, the same thin woman from the day you went to take the tests, looked even thinner next the big guy seated on the right of her, a seat in front of you. With the extreme lack of conversation, it was almost like everyone in the van expected to be attacked by terrorists or something. Although, maybe since this was a secret government agency, that happening was actually possibility.

  
You yawned. You were beginning to wish that you had followed Talia’s example and brought along something to read. It felt really strange not having your phone. You blinked, beginning to feel drowsy from boredom. Reaching up and rubbing your eyes, you yawned again. Your eyelids felt heavy. Maybe taking a small car nap would be ok. How long had you all been driving for now anyways? Three or four hours? It certainly felt that long….

  
Slowly but surely, your eyes begin to close and you drifted off into sleep. Perhaps many surprises waited for you at your destination, but for now, you could rest comfortably in ignorance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry, this is another short one. Chapter Four is a lot longer, I promise. I'm almost finished with it, so stay tuned :)


	4. Chapter Four

“All right, we’re here. Everyone out of the van!” a voice barked, jolting you awake. A rough hand shook your left shoulder. “Get up, (l/n)!”

Scowling at the rather rude awakening, you struggled to stand up, your legs and knees being all cramped up from sitting in the car for so long, and climbed out of the van, glad to finally have a chance to stretch your limbs.

It appeared you were now in some sort of parking garage. All around you, other black vans were pulling up and depositing passengers, most young college-age adults like yourself. The sounds of many conversations echoed through the garage, a stark contrast with the silence you had experienced the entire van ride. Some of the students were laughing as they got out of their vans. However, none of the official Foundation personnel seemed the least bit affected by seemed the least bit affected by any of the joy; rather they kept the same emotionless expressions as the people from your van did. It seemed a bit off to you, but maybe they were just tired.

A hand touched your shoulder unexpectedly and you jumped before turning to face the owner. It was Talia Versine. “Sorry,” she said, almost too quietly for you to hear what she had said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s all good,” you replied, somewhat distractedly. “I just didn’t expect it was all. Do you know what’s going on?”

“Not really,” Talia said, nervously playing with a strand of her dark hair as she spoke. “I just didn’t realize there would be so many others…”  
“Me either,” you agreed. “Although I guess it makes sense that they offered the same opportunity to other colleges as well.”

“Yeah maybe,” Talia said awkwardly. The two of you fell silent, neither of you knowing exactly what to say. While you might go to the same college, the two of you didn’t really know each other at all. It wasn’t though you had anything against Talia, but she was an extremely private individual and you had never had the chance to get to know her well. _Although I suppose now’s as good of a time as ever_ you thought to yourself. _Especially if we’re gonna end up working together._

However, before you could attempt to resume the conversation with Talia, a tall dark-haired woman dressed in a lab coat walked over to address the both of you. “You two must be the kids from Wide River University,” she stated matter-of-factly, flipping through some papers on the battered clipboard she held. “Let’s see…(y/n) (l/n) and Talia Versine. All right, looks like you both made it. Please follow me. We’ve arranged temporary sleeping accommodations for you until your own quarters can be cleaned out and set up. Your personal belongings should be arriving sometime next week.”

“Wait…how late is it?” you asked as you and Talia hurried to keep up with the woman, who seemed to be in a bit of a hurry as she headed towards the large automatic doors on the far side of the garage. If she was talking about sleeping accommodations already, it must mean that you were in that car for at least five and a half hours, as you had left the college at around 12:30. _Just how long of a car nap did I take?_

The woman glanced down at the watch on her arm as she walked. “It is currently 6:30 PM. And while I don’t know how late you two normally stayed up back at the college, but you’ll probably want to be bed about 7:30. Your training begins at 4:30 AM tomorrow morning.”

 _Ugh, why so early?_ You wondered, but you didn’t complain aloud. It was always best to be polite and agreeable once beginning a new job. And besides, maybe this wouldn’t be a permanent thing once you finished training. Or at least, hopefully it wouldn’t.

The woman led you both through the automatic doors and into the building. It was here that you got your very first look at the inside of the location you’d be working at. The white tiled floors and light gray concrete walls with absolutely nothing decorating them gave the facility a cold and slightly unwelcome feel to it. This was a contrast to the warm lively conversations between a group of students that walked a little ways in front of the three of you, led by another individual in a lab coat, this time a man.

“This way, please,” the woman said emotionlessly as she gestured towards a small cafeteria on your left. Two posters on either side of the doorway dubbed the place the “Lower Cafeteria”. “I’ll be back in about forty minutes to take you to your resting place. Please be ready.”

And with that, she left. You and Talia entered the slightly noisy cafeteria wordlessly. You were still taking in the whole situation and you figured Talia was likely doing the same.

The food on offer, aka mashed potatoes, gluten free bread and steamed green beans, wasn’t exactly your vision of delicious, but at least it wasn’t gross either. Plus, it came with a free small slice of cheesecake and a glass of cold water, something you hadn’t realized you had been thirsty for until you took a sip. As you left the line, you suddenly had a minor flashback to your high school days as you searched for a place to sit. With the steady flow of all the arriving college students, there really weren’t any empty tables available. _Well, I guess it’s high time to work on my social skills anyways_ you thought nervously as you slowly approached one of the emptier tables, occupied only by two guys who were earnestly talking to one another and young woman with shiny long black hair sitting a little ways down from the guys.

“Um, hey, uh…can I sit here?” you managed out, catching the girl’s attention. _Yup, it’s just like high school…please don’t let her think I’m weird…_

“Oh, absolutely!” The cheery response made you feel relieved. “I’m Isabelle McCarthy, by the way,” she added as you sat down and began to eat. “What’s your name?”

“Hawh? Oh, ith (y/n).” You swallowed your mouthful of food. “(Y/n) (l/n). Nice to meet you, Isabelle.”

“You have a such a nice name,” Isabelle said happily. “I think I’ll use your name for one of my characters in my novel…that is if you don’t mind. I mean, it is your name, so it’s kinda up to you and…oh I don’t know,” she finished, smiling awkwardly. “It’s just…(y/n) (l/n) sounds like a much better name for a character than Isabelle McCarthy. I hope I don’t sound too weird or anything.”

“No, you’re ok.” A smile tugged at the corner of your mouth as you continued eating. At least you weren’t the only one who was worried about being thought of as weird. “Actually, you kind of remind me of my friend, Hailey Herondale, and she’s been my best friend since ninth grade.”

“Oooh, she sounds nice!” Isabelle exclaimed excitedly. “And is she here too?”

“No, she’s not into science. She’s studying computers, art and animation,” you replied, imagining Hailey back at her old house making graphic edits on her computer. _To be honest, that’s probably what she’s doing right now._ “It would be cool if she was here though.”

“You’ve got that right,” Isabelle agreed. “Although, of course, that’s not me saying that I’m not happy that you’re here, I was just saying that, you know, it’d be cool to meet her too, and…”

“It’s ok,” you interrupted with a smile. “I get what you meant.”

“Ok good.” Isabelle released a breath of air. “So, uh, where do you hail from, if you don’t mind my asking? I saw you enter with that other girl, the one with the dark brown hair in the braid over her left shoulder. Is she another friend of yours?”

“Oh, that’s Talia Versine,” you answered. “And to be honest, I really don’t know her any better than I know anyone else here. She was in a few of the same science classes as I was at Wide River, but other than that, I really couldn’t tell you much about her. She seems alright, but she’s super shy.” 

“Oh ok.” Isabelle paused for a minute before continuing. “Do you think she’d mind it if I tried to get to now her?”

“No, I don’t think so, but I don’t…” You were interrupted by the sound of one of the facility staff members loudly clapping his hands together. “Can everyone please quiet down?” he shouted above the rapidly quieting din of many conversations. Even the two guys at your table stopped talking and you realized just how full your table had gotten during your conversation with Isabelle.

“Thank you. Now, I wanted to let you all know that first of all, we are very delighted here at the SCP Foundation to have so many members join our staff and we hope that you will all be great additions to our teams of researchers and doctors. Your test results and your grades have suggested that each one of you is brilliant and capable in his or her own way….” The man paused before continuing. “However, I will warn you all now that this job is not an easy one, something which will be elaborated on further tomorrow. You will be required to stay at this facility for sometimes up to nine months on end, depending on what you are assigned to study. You may or may not get holidays off during your first year. Some of you will be scheduled to work all night long shifts. Also, we are not liable for any injuries that may take place while on this job. And trust me, they will happen to someone at some point.

“You might be wondering why I am telling you all this. Well, if you haven’t figured it out already, some very highly confidential stuff goes on at this very facility and all of its sister locations. If anyone wishes to back out now, having been informed on all the unpleasantries of this career, they may do so without any hassle. You will simply be driven back home tomorrow afternoon and left to your own life. However, after training tomorrow, backing out of this job will not be as simple, so I suggest you all take a moment tonight before you go to sleep and ask yourself if this is really the path for you.”

A soft murmur spread throughout the cafeteria as the man finished speaking. You turned back to look at Isabelle, intending to ask her her thoughts, but she beat you to it. “Are you gonna leave?” she asked.

“I was just going to ask you that,” you said. “Because I really don’t know. I don’t like the idea of being at this facility for months at a time with no breaks, but I’m actually a bit curious as to what we’d be studying now.”

“Well, I’m definitely not going anywhere,” Isabelle stated matter-of-factly. “I was hoping to get this job since I first heard about it from Professor Yamamoto – she’s a professor at the University of Arizona, my college – and now that I’ve got it, I’m not letting go. Besides, I’m sure the only way someone would get injured is if they did something stupid, and we’re too careful for that!”

You opened your mouth to reply, but the sound of heels clacking on the floor behind you made you turn around. It was the same woman in the lab coat as before. She stopped at your table before saying, “(Y/n) (l/n), Jadyn Nobert, Rani Ahuja, Isabelle McCarthy, Tara Charleston, Wesley Denver, Kiesha Wilkins, Koralise Jones and Amelia Davis, your sleeping accommodations are ready. Please follow me.”

The woman led you all further down the hallway until you reached a large black automatic door with the strange symbol you kept seeing everywhere on it. The woman swiped a blue card on the keypad next to the door and it opened to reveal what looked like a spacious office-turned-temporary-dormitory. There were at least twenty mattresses lined up on the floor with matching gray sheets and dark blue blankets.

“There may be another group coming to join you in this room shortly,” the woman informed you all. “The bathroom is two doors down on your left and since none of you have key cards yet, just type in the code 429 – 0 and the door should open for you. If that code doesn’t work, try 329 – 0. Lights out in is fifteen minutes, so I suggest you all get ready to sleep, as most of the lights in the offices on this floor level power down automatically after a set time. I’ll see you all at 4:30 AM tomorrow morning.”

It felt strange sleeping in your day clothes that night. Though you had done it several times before, there was something about doing it in a room full of strangers (even if you kind of knew Isabelle). The hard mattress, somebody’s snoring, pitch-blackness of the room and all the unfamiliar sounds probably didn’t help ease your levels of discomfort at all. It was your very first night in a completely unfamiliar place and it didn’t help that the place was hiding something.

However, instead of letting yourself freak out, you tried to keep your mind on what new adventures tomorrow would bring. But it only made you worry more. _Maybe I should just go back home..._ you thought. _There’s no shame in saying I tried. And who even knows if this is the right job for me._

But Isabelle’s words about how excited she was to get the job kept countering this. You had been excited too. You remembered dancing in your dorm room with Hailey about receiving the acceptance letter after having believed that you wouldn’t make it for so long. And how lucky is it to get a good job right out of college? Most graduates didn’t get this opportunity and you certainly shouldn’t be squandering it. This probably wouldn’t be too bad anyways, all you needed to do was learn the ropes, just like with your previous jobs.

 _Yeah, I’m just being silly._ You thought as you slowly drifted off to sleep. _It’s just another job that will take a bit of time to get used to is all. No big deal._


End file.
